for the longest time
by garyprestons
Summary: Gary's thoughts in the pilot after he and Miranda run into one another again for the first time in years. Filled request.


As far as first days go, Gary thought his first day working at Clive's restaurant had gone pretty well. Clive was a pretty good boss, if not a bit excitable. Well, very excitable. And the other staff were friendly and didn't give him a hard time for being the new guy. They were actually pretty impressed with his experience when he told them about how he'd picked it up while travelling. Still, it had been a long day – the restaurant had been busy from open to close, and when they finally locked the doors he felt about ready to drop.

Then he remembered that he'd invited Miranda over after work and he perked up. He still couldn't believe they'd run into one another after so many years. How long had it been? He tried to do the maths in his head; they'd graduated from uni together and then gone travelling. He was pretty sure she'd been at the party Nick had thrown a few days before he left. At least, he'd called her and invited her. But he couldn't remember if she'd actually been there. If that were the case, it was… ten years? Something like that.

He'd been so pleased to see that she really hadn't changed at all in that time. She was still funny, smart, a bit goofy, and still a bit of a clutz. It was like she'd walked out of his past and into his life, and aside from her initial shock (that had to be why she'd acted like such an awkward nutter, right?) they'd easily slipped back into the familiar ease that had always been the basis of their close friendship.

Back in uni, he'd wondered more than once why they'd never dated. The attraction was there, definitely. Aside from the physical attraction, she was warm and sweet and she didn't care that he was a bit of a dork. She knew him better than most of his guy friends, really. They didn't know he was scared of mice, or that he was struggling to figure out what to do with his life beyond school. But she'd always been there, and maybe it was because they were too good of friends to risk losing one another for something more.

He finished setting one of the tables with two place settings, and briefly considered lighting the candles. Maybe a bit too romantic. He left them aside and went back to the kitchen to start putting something together. He was so engrossed in his work that he didn't even know she'd arrived until Clive poked his head through the door.

"Gary, your girlfriend's here!" he said a bit too loudly, and Gary almost dropped the glass he was holding.

"She's a friend, Clive!" Gary rolled his eyes in exasperation and hurried out of the kitchen to find Miranda standing at the bar. She'd changed out of the strange sparkly dress she'd been wearing, and had taken off her makeup. She looked really cute, and more like the Miranda he was used to seeing. The one he'd missed while travelling.

"Gary, hi!" she greeted him with a shy smile. He decided to risk a second attempt and moved towards her, and this time she stepped towards him and into his arms for a hug. "Listen, I'm sorry about before back at the shop, I know I looked like a bit of a loon-"

"I've seen you after three glasses of champagne on New Years Eve, wearing a cowboy hat and fancy dress all at the same time. I'm used to it, even after, what, ten years? You haven't changed at all."

Miranda's smile widened, although she was rather pink in the cheeks from embarrassment. "We promised we'd never bring that up again, only because I remember none of it."

Gary laughed and held up his hands in surrender. "Right, sorry, won't mention it again. Um, have a seat, I'll go get us some tea." He watched as she sat down, and after a few minutes he joined her, setting down a cup of tea in front of her as well as a plate of muffins he'd made earlier.

"I still can't believe we're neighbours now, Gary!" she said happily, and then took a bite of the muffin. Gary watched her hopefully, wanting to see her reaction. Part of the reason he loved being a chef was seeing people enjoy good food. "Oh my god, that's amazing. I always knew you were good with food, but really, I'm going to be here every day now."

Gary grinned with more than a hint of pride. And he wouldn't exactly mind her stopping by frequently, either.

"And how did you end up being a chef?" she asked as she reached for another muffin, and it was like he'd never left, that they were back in uni together sitting on his bed together talking like they always did. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed it, missed her, until now.

Maybe it was fate that had put him right next door to her once more. Ten years ago he didn't have the courage to do anything about his attraction to her, but maybe enough time spent apart from her, growing, maturing, and getting a taste of adventure was what he needed to give it another try.


End file.
